Our Lineage
Every Reiki practitioner belongs to a lineage, the line of teachers that connects them to Mikao Usui, the founder of what is known today as Reiki. Below are the forebearers in our Reiki lineage:
Mikao Usui
A former Japanese schoolteacher in the late 1800’s. Usui set out on a quest to answer the question of how Jesus, Buddha and other enlightened beings were able to heal others through the simple use of touch. Frustrated by his inability to solve this mystery, Usui embarked on a 21 day meditative retreat on Mount Kurama, a holy mountain in Japan, in an attempt to access deeper understanding. On the 21st day of his retreat, Usui achieved enlightenment when he was struck on the head by a BALL OF LIGHT that revealed to him much of what we now call Reiki. Usui went on to practice reiki and teach extensively throughout Japan
Chujiro Hayashi
A retired Japanese naval officer and physician, Hayashi was among the many trained in Reiki by Usui. His impact on Reiki’s rise in popularity cannot be overstated. Hayashi founded a clinic in Tokyo in the mid 1920’s. Japanese Royalty and Court members were frequent attendees, thus bolstering Reiki’s reputation among Japan’s educated elite. As awareness and interest in Reiki grew, Hayashi opened more clinics and dedicated himself to educating others of it’s prowess.
Hayashi is credited with the formalization of hand positions typically used in Reiki today. In addition, he made a number of adjustments to Usui’s system. Hayashi’s contributions are believed to have made the practice of Reiki less mystical, more easily explainable, both to patients and medical personnel and more teachable to the average student.
Hawaya Takata
Was a Japanese-American woman and native of Hawaii. Newly widowed, financially challenged and beset by a myriad of health problems, including a tumor and appendicitis, Takata travelled to Japan in search of medical assistance. Once there, she serendipitously managed to become a patient in one of Hayashi’s clinics. Six weeks after her arrival at the clinic, a period in which she received daily Reiki treatments, Takata’s ailments were healed. She spent the following year in Japan studying Reiki under Hayashi and was later initiated as a Master by him.
Hawaya Takata was the first person to bring Hayashi’s teachings to the West. At the time of her transition, Mrs. Takata had trained 22 Reiki Masters. Most of Reiki’s spread throughout the West can be traced back to this group of teachers.
John Harvey Gray
An early student of Hawaya Takata. In 1976 he became the first Reiki Master initiated by Takata in California and her third worldwide. Gray taught more than 900 Reiki classes to over 15,000 students and gave over 10,000 private Reiki treatments during his lifetime. At the time of his passing, at the age of 93, he was the longest-practicing Reiki Master in the Western Hemisphere.
Brian Brunius
Received his first and second degree Reiki training under John Harvey Gray. Brian later completed his Reiki Master Instructor training and 2,000 hour apprenticeship under a Reiki Master trained directly By John Harvey Gray.
To date, David Ellner has completed his first and second degree Reiki training and a six month (150 hour) Certified Reiki Practitioner Program, under the tutelage of Brian Brunius. David regards Mr. Brunius as his primary Reiki Master.